Improvement in rufflers for sewing-machines



UNITED STATES PATENT QEEICE.

MARSHALL J. STOLL, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN RUFFLERS FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,557, dated July 1,1873 application filed June 4, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, MARSHALL J. SToLL, of Middletown, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement inRufding Attachment for Sewing-Machines and I do hereby declare thefollowing, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of thisspecification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a side view; Fig. 2, a top view; Fig. 3, a sectional side view5 and in Fig. 4, a reverse side view.

This invention relates to an improvement in attachment tosewing-machines, the object being to gather the material upon either theupper or under side, so that, when two strips or materials are used,either the upper or under, or both, may be gathered; and the inventionconsists in a base or plate supporting the mechanism by which it isattached to the machine, with a separator between the said plate and thework-plate and a feed above the said work-plate having an up-and-downforward-and-back movement imparted thereto from connection with theneedle-arm, all as more fully hereinafter described.

A is the plate or b ase which support-s the mechanism, and is attached,preferably, to the presser-foot of the machine, here represented as by asocket, B, to be set onto the presser-foot bar. Beneath this plate isarranged an elastic plate, C, which lies over the feed. of the machine,and between the plate A and the work-plate. Upon this plate the feed ofthe sewing-machine bears, so that a fabric or strip lying between thesaid plate C and the work-plate would be moved by the feed of themachine to the full extent of the feed, while a second strip lying abovethe plate C would not receive the action of the feed of the machineuntil after it had passed oif from the plate C; hence the lower fabric,being moved a greater distance than the upper, would be ruffled at eachfeed of the machine to the extent ofthe feed moved upon the plate C.Above the plate C, and suitably guided on the plate A, is arranged abar, D, with serrations a, or an equivalent therefor, directly over theplate C, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. This bar receives a longitudinalmovement from the needle-arm by means of a lever, E, the motion' beingcommunicated through an arm, F, running from the shorter arm E of thelever to a second lever, L. This lever L is hung to a post, P, as seenin Fig. 4, and the rising and falling of the needlearm communicates avibratory movement to the lever L, as from the position in Fig. 3 tothat in Fig. 4. The lower end of the lever L is connected to the forwardend of the bar D so as to communicate a reciprocating motion to the saidbar D, which will carry the feed portion a back and forth over the plateC; but, that this feed may rise at the completion of this forwardmovement and descend again at the completion of its back movement, Imake the connection between the 1ever L and bar D by means of a slot, d,inclining back downward, and in this slot the stud b on the lever works;therefore, as the needle-arm descends and the feed returns, startingfrom the position in Fig. 3, the first movement of the lever L carriesthe stud b back in the slot d and raises the bar D, as seen in Fig. 3.Continuing its movement, the bar D is then carried back, and, when theneedle-arm rises, the first part of the movement carries the lever Lforward. The stud b running to the other end of the slot d depresses thebar D 5 then at the completion of the movement the bar D is advanced.Therefore, a fabric placed above the plate C will be moved by the feed ain similar manner to the feed below; and if two fabrics be introduced,one above and one below, the feed which moves in advance-that is, fasterthan the other-will ruffle the fabric which it carries to the extent ofthat difference, whether it be the upper or the lower. If both move tothe same extent, then both fabrics are moved with equal velocity. Thiswill be an advantage in the stitching of many kinds of fabrics, such assilks or other sleazy goods, to prevent puckering; and at any timeeither the upper or lower may be ruffled by adjusting the feedsaccordingly. The adjustinent of the upper feed is made by a slot,f, inthe arm E of the lever and a set-screw, S; thus a distance may bestitched plain7 then ruffled, and so on.

I claim as my inventionv As an attachment for under-feed sewingmachines,the supporting-plate A having the sliding bar D arranged thereon, andthe said bar provided With serrations or other feedingsurface co, andreceiving a combined 11p-anddOWn forWard-and-back movement from theneedlearin through the lever E in connection With the said needle-bar,and combined with the separator C.

MARSHALL J. STOLL.

Witnesses:

GEO. M. PRATT, S. A. ROBINSON.

